Adetola Salau (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/98431286444?pwd=MUF6eTA4S213QnM3ZHg5RzVGVHRrQT09

The West African Examination Council syllabus (Alao & Gallagher, 1988) states that the objectives of studying science include understanding basic science concepts, gaining of laboratory skills, connecting science and industry with real-life situations (especially in terms of benefits and hazards), and acquiring the skills of critical and logical thinking. These objectives necessitate the need for practical work and experimentation within the science learning context that give meaning and significance to understanding science (Etiubon & Udoh, 2017). Given that laboratory skills and practical work in science are expected to be undertaken as part of the syllabus, according to Lunetta et al. (2007), practical work are learning experiences in which students interact with materials or with secondary sources of data to observe and understand the natural world.

This study investigated the nature and state of practical work in science education at a Lagos State Government public secondary school. The study documented how public senior secondary school science teachers plan for and enact practical work in science education. More specifically, this study focused on science teachers’ approaches, their perceptions of students’ work, the type of activities they conduct, the role of assessment they undertake, and the kinds of school supports that exist for them to engage teaching and learning of practical work.

The following research questions were addressed in the study: RQ1 – What are science teachers’ experiences with the teaching and learning of practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria? RQ2 – What kinds of school support are available to aid science teachers’ practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos, Nigeria? RQ3 – What are benefits and challenges of practical work in a senior secondary school in Lagos State?

This exploratory case study followed an interpretive approach. The data sources included teacher interviews, classroom observations, and artefacts. The findings revealed that practical work involves a lot of improvisation, is teacher-centered and didactic, and lacks necessary scientific equipment to carry it out. The findings have implications for understanding the tensions of teachers’ knowledge versus their translation of practical work in science teaching and learning. It informs Nigeria’s reform efforts to prepare students for scientific critical thinking and future STEM-related careers.

Keywords-: practical work; inquiry-based learning; science process skills; science education

Paige Altman (Information Science)

Zoom Link: https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/91428680141?pwd=VnhRU1g2aGZjU1pSUS9Fc096V2VSUT09

Microaggressions are subtle, degrading actions against individuals in marginalized communities. These actions sometimes occur without the actor’s knowledge, but aggressions place chronic stress on their victims which can lead to physical and mental health issues. Studying these actions and how they affect the daily lives of minority groups is crucial to creating awareness and stopping microaggressions completely. Transgender and nonbinary individuals have been neglected in research until recently, and even now there is not enough known about how their experiences with microaggressions differ from other groups. To understand the effects of microaggressions on transgender and/or nonbinary undergraduate student performance, this study will address Microaggression Theory, particularly the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Model, to analyze microaggressions against transgender and nonbinary students. This study will hypothesize that microaggressions against transgender and nonbinary students cause decreased academic performance resulting in lower grades and a reduced ability to learn, a greater likelihood of dropping out, and poor mental health. Data will be collected using survey research and semistructured interviews of transgender and nonbinary college and university students and analyzed using a mixed-methods approach. Participants will be recruited through purposive and convenience sampling due to the nature of the special population. The survey will include the Anxiety Subscale and Depression Scale through the Brief Symptom Inventory as well as the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure which asks questions about microaggressions targeted specifically toward transgender and nonbinary individuals. Schools will be asked to distribute this anonymous online survey through email, links posted on their LGBTQIA+ organization’s/resource’s website, as well as flyers posted throughout campus. This will be a cross-sectional study conducted over one semester. Once the initial data is collected and analyzed, researchers will determine if the findings are successful. If successful, researchers will conduct longitudinal prospective repeated cross-sectional studies to gather more information and increase the validity and generalizability of the study. This study will be adding to existing theory by addressing the experiences of transgender and nonbinary students in contrast to many previously conducted studies that have limited their research to the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. Addressing the experiences of transgender and nonbinary students gives this group a voice which may also contribute additional microaggressions that could be added to previous theories and used in future research.

Melanie Bliz (Learning and Instruction)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/97760007452?pwd=OEM1ODFqZElaSy9CU21vTzVqSHJKdz09

Many athletic departments have created academic mentoring or coaching programs to help student-athletes with skill enrichment, learning strategies and overall academic achievement. The purpose of this study is to discover the learning strategies used by academic coaches with student-athletes in an academic coaching program in a Division I athletics department at a research University located in the Northeast.  The study explores results from fifteen academic coaches who completed a mixed methods questionnaire. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis. Overall, academic coaches implement multiple learning strategies and can adapt strategies for the diverse learners on their caseload. The coaches identified ways in which they measured academic success with their mentees but were least confident in knowing if the learning strategies they implemented were effective. Implications suggest training academic coaches on how to assess to ensure strategies are successful. Considerations for future research and limitations are also provided. Guiding this study are the following research questions:

1.     How do academic coaches perceive their roles as an academic coach for student-athletes to become more independent learners?

2.     What strategies do the academic coaches utilize to promote student-athlete learning? This question aims to see types of pedagogies and pedagogical strategies the mentors have used.

3.     What are the potential barriers, if any, have they experienced when coaching student-athletes?

4.     How, if at all, did the learning strategies differ during face to face versus online coaching meetings?

Keywords: college student-athlete, academic mentoring, academic coaching, learning strategies, study skills, higher education

GKristine Rosales and Giambattista Davis (Educational Leadership and Policy)
Erin Macdiarmid (Educational Leadership and Policy)

Zoom Link https://buffalo.zoom.us/j/99476713057?pwd=S2RqZ2tSZUQ4Sm5iWi96QTIwVjVkZz09

Abstract:

First-generation colleges students are a unique population of students on campus whose parents have not completed a 4-year degree. The literature describes how the potential risk faced by first generation students is greater due to the significant difference in experiences and needs that these students have. Institutions of higher education must evolve to be able to tailor their services and resources to help students, administrators, and faculty to be prepared to work with first-generation students. Students who are first-generation at times lack the guidance to navigate the environments and hidden curriculum of higher education thus resulting in higher drop out rates, longer times spend to graduate and less sense of community at the institution (Davis, 2010; Gofen, 2009; Ward et al., 2012). Ward et al. (2012) argued for the need for higher education to help first generation students in that “First-generation students need to be more visible to educators, and they require a unique support system to prosper and succeed in college,” (Ward et al., 2012, p. 3).

There is an increased awareness to the opportunities in assisting first-generation students in making the most out of their college experience, but institutions must welcome positive change that can affect these populations on campus. We intend to examine the relationship between family background, such as parental educational attainment and income, H.S. academic performance, SAT scores, with Time to Graduation and Employment/Salary 1-year post-graduation. Our theory is related to the first-generation college students from low-income households who will struggle more in their college performance.  As many colleges go through a decrease in enrollments and funding, important decisions are made in support services for students. We hope to make the case for the need to keep support services for those who may potentially struggle more and better understand the relationship between variables affecting the time it takes students to graduate and the job outlook they have the first year after graduation.  Utilizing the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, we intend to examine the Family Background, Parental Educational Attainment, Familial Income, Immigration Status, H.S. GPA, SAT scores effect on Post Graduation Employment Income and Time to graduation.  The data utilized will include Base Year (2002) , first Follow-up (2004),  Third Follow-up (2012), and Postsecondary Transcripts (2013) data.Rationale: As many colleges go through a decrease in enrollments and funding, important decisions are made in support services for students.

Abstract:

With the rising costs of higher education, states are creating tuition guarantee policies for students who enroll at state public institutions.  These policies are mitigating the cost of a four-year degree for middle income families, who previously may have sought out community colleges for an affordable start to higher education.  New York State introduced an income-based college scholarship to benefit middle class families in 2017 titled the Excelsior scholarship.  The Excelsior scholarship is a last dollar scholarship and can be used at any two or four-year public institution to fund the cost of tuition up to four years.  State operated financial aid programs in the form of grants, whether they be income based or merit based, positively impact student enrollment in higher education, but also might negatively impact enrollment trends at community colleges and non-selective private institutions.  This study aims to understand whether the Excelsior scholarship is negatively affecting NYS community college enrollment, as well as non-selective NYS private college enrollment.      

Research from other state income and merit-based grant programs demonstrate a price response to student enrollment decisions.  The New Mexico Lottery scholarship offers all residents a last dollar scholarship at any public institution of higher education if enrollment is initiated within sixteen months from graduation, and this scholarship led to a significant increase in minority and low-income student enrollment at the four-year state institutions (Binder & Ganderton, 2004).  The Indiana Twenty Century Scholars, an income-based program, this scholarship increased college access and enrollment at both state public and private institutions (St. John, 2004).  The Georgia HOPE scholarship, a merit-based scholarship, increased public college enrollment, but may have not increased college access as the scholarship did more to keep Georgia’s top students in the state (Conwell & Mustard, 2004). Finally, the Tennessee promise, offers state residents a last dollar scholarship at two-year institutions, resulting in an increase in enrollment at its two-year institutions (Meehan, Hagood, Callahan & Kent, 2019).  These state income and merit based financial aid programs increase the college going expectation among students and impact college enrollment; however, the enrollment at the institution is influence by the financial cost to the student. 

This study is an institutional level analysis of student enrollment trends in NYS over a ten-year period, specifically looking to see if the enrollment trends at two-year colleges and private non-selective institutions decrease after the introduction of the Excelsior scholarship in 2017.  A fixed effects analysis will be conducted, controlling for the effect of time due to the pandemic of 2020.  NYS public, private, four-year, and two-year student enrollment data from the years of 2010 through 2021 will be reviewed using the variables of year, applications, enrollment, sector, and tuition.  In NYS it is expected that the enrollment patterns over the ten-year period will follow a parallel trajectory up until the introduction of the Excelsior scholarship, it is at that point we anticipate the enrollment pattern at NYS community colleges and non-selective private colleges will decrease.  To serve as a control for our study, the states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania will be included in our analysis.  These states share similarities in higher education to NYS, and it is expected their enrollment patterns will continue on the same trajectory throughout the ten-year period.